WHO: Ohio State Buckeyes (7-10-1) vs. No. 1 Miami RedHawks (11-2-5).
WHERE: Friday--Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio. Saturday--Cady Arena, Oxford, Ohio.
WHEN: Both nights, 7:05 p.m.
TV: Friday--None. Saturday--ONN (Time Warner digital channel 362 in Cincinnati).
MIAMI RADIO COVERAGE: Friday--WPFB-AM (910), Middletown, Ohio; Saturday--WKPV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.
NOTES: Ohio State might be just the opponent Miami needs right now.
Miami, which has scored more than three goals just six times this season and only twice in its last eight games, faces a Buckeyes team that leads the CCHA in goals allowed in conference games.
And the RedHawks scored seven goals against the Buckeyes twice last season. Miami is 8-1-1 vs. Ohio State in the teams' last 10 meetings.
But Buckeyes sophomore goalie Cal Heeter has started to warm up after a slow start, allowing just six goals in his last three starts, stopping 96 of 102 shots.
Heeter took over as Ohio State's regular starter after junior Dustin Carlson suffered a 4-1 loss to North Dakota that dropped his record to 1-7 on the season.
Heeter is 6-3-1 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Carlson has a 2.93 GAA and .908 save percentage.
Four Ohio State forwards have recorded at least 12 points. Sophomore Zac Dalpe, who is a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick, leads the team in goals (9) and points (18). He recorded 25 points as a freshman.
Junior Peter Boyd, coming off a 31-point season, is the Buckeyes' assist leader with 11, and the team's second-leading scorer.
Junior Sergio Somma has 13 points, junior John Albert (Thrashers draftee) has 12. Albert finished last season with 11 goals and a team-best 28 assists.
Ohio State's top two scoring defensemen are both NHL draftees. Islanders prospect junior Shane Sims has notched two goals and six assists, and Panthers draft pick Matt Bartkowski has two goals and three assists.
Sims and Bartkowski were first and second, respectively, in Buckeyes defensemen scoring in 2008-09.
Miami leads the all-times series by one game, 58-57-11.
Ohio State has been streaky this season. After just 18 games, the Buckeyes have already suffered two two-game losing streaks and have won three straight games.
Ohio State has won two of its last three, and is coming off a split against Michigan. The Buckeye beat Bemidji State, 2-1 in the Holiday Classic in North Dakota on Nov. 28, then returned home to beat the Wolverines, 5-3 last Friday before falling, 2-1 in the series finale.
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